Mushroom growing substrates provide specific nutrients for different types of mushrooms to grow. It is essentially the food for your mushroom to grow.
Mushroom substrates are basically what the will consume for food and should contain:
1. Lignin
2. Cellulose
3. Hemicellulose
The components are found in the cell walls of plants and trees. Some other trace minerals, nitrogen and moisture are also needed.
As long as you substrate contains the correct nutrients then you mushroom should grow in it.
However, everything needs to be tested. People are constantly testing new ideas for different substrates with different mushrooms.
This podcast goes over the 13 most common mushroom substrates that people use today to grow mushrooms:
1) Supplemented Hardwood Sawdust
2) Psilocybe Fanaticus Technique (PF-Tek)
3) Straw
4) Coffee Grounds
5) Rye Grain
6) Manure
7) Masters Mix
8) Logs
9) Straw with Coffee Grounds
10) Straw with Coffee Grounds & Sawdust
11) Coco Coir with Vermiculite
12) Cardboard
13) Popcorn Grain
To learn more about the exact ingredients and how to make all these substrates then check out our article here:
https://curativemushrooms.com/mushroom-growing-substrates